


Inquiry

by missymisery



Category: Gotham (TV), Mindhunter (TV 2017)
Genre: 1970s, Arkham Asylum, But also not, Gen, Hand wavey interrogation, Implied/Referenced Murder, Inaccuracies, Interrogation, Mental Health Issues, a lot of inaccuracies, and probably post 5x11 for gotham, gotham has a weird time period, i didnt research for this, i dont remember the questionnaire but whatever LOL, takes place sometime during or post mindhunter, you dont actually have to watch both to get this fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-06 08:56:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20504312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missymisery/pseuds/missymisery
Summary: The FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit sets their eyes on Gotham’s most depraved.(No need to watch both shows to get this fic.)





	Inquiry

**Author's Note:**

> this is so self indulgent im sorry

“Edward Nygma,” Wendy began, laying down a file on the table. Holden eyed it in curiousity before picking up a photograph. “Also known as the Riddler.”

”Sounds pretentious,” Bill said. He leaned back on his chair, hands together, and Holden took a glance at the photo Bill held. He barely snuck a glimpse but he could see the flash of glitter caught on sepia.

“That’s because he is,” Wendy said. “The Riddler was notorious for leaving hints at his crime scenes. Think BTK or Zodiac, but bigger. Police generally see him as a nuisance due to his ostentanious displays of drama. Arkham Asylum lists him as a textbook narcissist with a compulsion for making everything a puzzle. Reports say he has a flair for the dramatic and calls himself the, quote, ‘Smartest Man In Gotham’, unquote.”

“Great, another psycho egomaniac Ed,” Bill muttered. “Just what we need.”

“So he thinks he’s smarter than everyone,” Holden said, leaning forward and locking his hands together. “That fits in with the rest of the traits, right?”

“Not to mention he’s had a bad home life,” Bill said, reading through the file. “Jesus, he even changed his name legally.”

“What was his name before?” Holden asked.

“Edward _Nashton_,” Bill said. “Had daddy issues. Former forensics analyst... this guy didn’t even have a record but then he suddenly snapped one day, killing his coworker and girlfriend.”

“Reports say why?”

“Nope,” Bill said, handing over the file to Holden. “But what’s even crazier is what happens afterward.”

“How come we’ve never heard of him?” Holden asked, staring at the image of the man in front of him. Wide smile, glasses, clean cut hair—he looked more than normal. But Holden knew more than anyone that looks didn’t matter, when it came to criminals anyone was fair game. Flipping through the pages, he caught an image of Nygma in a warehouse, the image clearly taken far away. He put the file down. “Someone like that has got to be public news, right? I mean, riddles with every crime? A green suit and a bowler hat? How has he not made nationwide television?”

“Gotham doesn’t like publicizing their crime to those living outside it,” Wendy said. “After the disaster when they were cut off from mainland I don’t think they want any chances.”

“And they don’t like the FBI,” Bill said. “The GCPD prefers their own officers, even if half of them are on payroll.”

“How come they’re letting us see him, then?” Holden asked.

“The commissioner heard what we’re doing and thought we could study a few of their most notorious criminals—said he didn’t want a repeat of the whole No Man’s Land fiasco,” Wendy said. “I met his wife once, when I was still teaching—she reached out to me when she found out what the BSU was doing and she told me we could interview a few of those in Arkham.”

“You mentioned what happens afterward—what do you mean?” Gregg asked, finally deciding to speak up.

“After he was arrested and put into Arkham, he got out in _months_,” Bill said. “And became the mayor’s chief of staff. Then he tried to kill the mayor, and a whole bunch of other just as equally crazy shit. And he isn’t even the worst out of everyone in the city, apparently.”

“Yes, one of the reasons why Nygma never made the headlines outside of Gotham was because of Jerome—and later, Jeremiah—Valeska. Known anarchist and cult leader, but he’s long passed. It would’ve been nice to study him,” Wendy said. “His unpredictability was attributed to his insanity but there was more to it than that, I think. Valeska showed intellect in his planning, even going as far as to drive his brother insane, who is arguably much worse.”

“How many more criminals are in Gotham, anyway?” Gregg asked. “It sounds like a lot.”

“Because there is,” Wendy said. “We’ve barely even scratched the surface—Gotham is like a goldmine for our study. We have the Riddler, Valeska, Scarecrow, Mad Hatter—the list goes on. But we should put all our focus on Nygma first. We need to assess the unpredictability of these killers in Gotham before anything else. From what I read Nygma seems to be the most reasonable out of most of them, and that’s saying a _lot_.”

“Gotham,” Holden muttered, staring at the file. “Sounds like a crazy place.”


End file.
